FuoriBorgo

Corner View ~ miniature worlds

Tolly lives here.  She's inhabited this miniature world, a matchbox, for over 70 years.

 

Who is Tolly?

 

Tolly is a little turtle made from a walnut shell, that was my aunt's toy when she was a child.  Then my aunt gave Tolly to me.

Now Tolly is a miniature window on my aunt's past, and on mine.

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For more corner views on miniature worlds, see Jane.

Corner View ~ coffee companion

My first cup of coffee: in the last few days, when I make my morning coffee, which is always the first thing I do, I haven't needed to turn on a light.  Here's my view out the window at 6.40am, and my first glimpse of my coffee companion: sunlight!  We've entered that magic time of year when sunlight embraces us from the moment we wake up.

My second (or third?) cup of coffee: it's early afternoon, and I'm sitting on the terrace in layered long-sleeve t-shirts and sunglasses, soaking up the spring sunlight, which feels so good after a long, cold winter.  The sun is the perfect coffee companion all year round, if you ask me.

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For more coffee companions around the world, visit Jane's sidebar.

Corner View ~ wisdom from an elder

I noticed that my elderly farmer neighbors plant their potatoes only before a full moon, and one day, armed with pen and paper, I went to ask them to tell me all the secrets of lunar cycle and gardening. 

(same moon, 21 minutes later) 

I am down here, and the moon is way up there, replied my 85-year-old neighbor, one of the kindest people I've ever known, old and wise enough to know that rules and traditions are here to serve us, and not the other way round. 

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For more corner views on this topic, see Jane's side bar.

Corner View ~ repurposed

One of my oldest personal belongings is the wicker bicycle basket that I used to carry my school books when I was in high school.  I used it for 5 years, each school day, even when it rained or snowed.  I also lugged it on public transport, because I wouldn't use a school bag or backpack- heavens no.  I was a teenager, after all.

Sadly, since then I haven't ridden a bicycle much, but the wicker basket has stayed with me, and over the years it has enjoyed many different uses.  The latest is something Nicholas came up with when tired of having to climb all the way down from his top bunk (a grand total of 6 steps) to put his book down before turning the light off, he repurposed it as a hanging "bed-side basket".

 

Kids are quite amazing at finding ingenious solutions and new creative uses for old items.  Which makes me really curious to visit our youngest participant in the Corner View project today!  

Will you join me visititing Sky today?  As a 13-year-old young lady, she represents our new generation of ethically conscious citizens of the world, and of bloggers.

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For more Corner Views on repurposing around the world, check the list in Jane's sidebar.

Corner View ~ sweets

Sweets?  We usually make our own sweets (except for the lemon & pistachio ice cream I occasionally indulge in in summertime ...).  My kids, like all kids, love to help (and taste) when mommy bakes.  What they like most of all is using their great-grandmother's cookie cutter wheel. 

 

Oh, the fun they've had with that wheel!  Running it over cookie dough, play dough, wet sand ... I know my grandmother would have approved of the many uses they put it to, even the less conventional ones.

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For more Corner Views on sweets around the world, see Jane.

Corner View ~ favorite hang-out

I could tell you that my favorite hang-out is the beach, where I chat with friends while my kids play with other kids, where I walk along the shore, and where so many memories of the last several years are engrained in the sand and the relentless motion of the waves.

But my favorite hang-out ever was the pub.  The pubs of London, before the invention of wine bars.  A White Hart, Three Cups or a Red Lion pub, with floral or deep red carpets and dark wooden furniture, with musty smells and calls for "last orders," with brimming pints and no tipping ... it feels like a different lifetime.

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For more favorite hang-outs around the world, see Jane.

Corner View ~ my style

Before having kids, I was (or tried to be) more chic.  Then I had babies, and for awhile I was pretty rustic.

And now I've struck a balance:  rustic-chic.  But my style is constantly evolving.  How about yours?

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For more Corner Views on world styles, see Jane.

Corner View ~ Holiday

An ode to holidays and ... to grandmothers who come visiting!

 

During the holidays, Tom and I went out one night, and had dinner together sans kids, for the first time in ... hmm, too long.  It really was a special, special night.  How often do you get such nights?

Corner View ~ Books

"Books?" is what my husband asked when I showed him my latest purchase. "For books?!" he went on, all the while thinking, I'm sure, "Oh, no, another dust-catcher," as he affectionately calls my finds.

We have books everywhere in our small house, stacked in every conceivable way.  And vintage irons make perfect book holders - wouldn't you agree?

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For more views on books from other corners of the world, see Jane.

Corner View ~ Evening

Evening in the cold season is when we are all home; we light the candles, and switch off the lights.  And while everything outside is cold and dark, we sit down together for dinner with the flickering flames to keep us company, playing with the shadows and dancing with the warm glare of the fireplace.

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For more Evenings around the globe, see Jane.